Shoe



Feb. 28, 1939.

A. H. GEUTING SHOE Filed Febf24, 195s INVENTOR /Zvr/ 0/w/62'umv6.

BY I

ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 28, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

My invention relates to a new and useful shoe and it relates more particularly to a shoe designed and constructed for guiding the growth of the foot from infancy up through childhood and adolescence or until the foot has set or assumed its permanent, fully-grown shape and position, and conversely to prevent malformation or maladjustment of the bones of the foot. My novel shoe is also calculated to correct imperfections or malformations in the event that this type of shoe is not used continuously and from infancy.

Shoes heretofore known and used have, to my knowledge, after over fifty years of activity in the shoe retail business, been built in a manner which simultaneously cramps the small toes of the foot and also tends to deflect all the toes outwardly with respect to the longitudinal axis of the foot thus weakening the bone structure by spreading the bones and deflecting them from their normal position and also thus weakening and spreading the arch of the foot. To overcome this it has been the practice to insert in some shoes metallic arch supports but this only results, perhaps, in relieving the sufferer and is certainly not corrective of the original defect resulting from the growth of the foot in the conventional shoe referred to. It has been demonstrated and in fact it is well known that the healthy and normal form of the human foot is one in which a high arch is provided along the inner edge of the sole and in which the toes of the foot are either perfectly straight longitudinally considered, or are, perhaps preferably, slightly inwardly turned with respect to the longitudinal axis of the foot thus allowing the bone to grow in compact form which gives the bones the necessary strength for supporting a normal, high arch.

Of course, most of the damage is done in babyhood due to the fact that babies shoes have heretofore been made more or less of a boxlike construction, the shoe being practically symmetrical if divided along its longitudinal axis, and furthermore such baby shoes which are commonly made of soft material allow the foot to grow distorted due to the lack of means for helping in the formation of a properly knit and high arch or for preventing the outward deflection of the big toes and the cramping together of the little toes.

It is therefore the object of my invention to produce a shoe, which can be worn from babyhood up through the years until the foot is fully grown and set and the use of which can be profitably continued thereafter, by means of which,

Without sacrificing comfort or style I am enabled, not only to allow the foot to grow unhampered according to its normal development, but also to guide a babys foot to proper growth in the event that such foot, if let alone, would not de- 5 velop normally. Towards that end I have devised a novel shoe which, when worn on the foot and laced, will exert an upward pull or suspending tension against the inner high point of the arch and thus tend, not only to build the arch, but 10 also to maintain the ball and toes of the foot in proper longitudinal position and in certain cases tend to deflect the ball and the toe slightly inwardly to produce the proper compact form of growth. It is also to be noted that this is ac 15 complished without in any way interfering with the style of the shoe or the sole or heel portions thereof and without changing the position of the lacing or other fastening means thereby producing a shoe which, while corrective, nevertheless 20 possesses practically the same appearance as a conventional shoe.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 represents a View in elevation of the inner side of a shoe embodying my invention. 5

Fig. 2 represents a View in elevation of the outer side of a shoe embodying my invention.

Referring to the drawing in which like reference characters indicate like parts i designates the sole of a baby shoe which is shown as being 30 made of soft material and without a heel, but it is to be understood that my invention as hereinafter described is applicable to other shoes with or without a heel and made of other kinds of leather or shoe material. 2 designates the vamp of the shoe which may be of any conventional construction, 3 designates the inside quarter and 4 designates the outside quarter, the quarters 3 and 4 being'suitably stitched together along the vertical median line of the heel. The quarters 3 and l are provided with suitable eyelets for receiving a lace or are otherwise suitably drawn together when the shoe is on the foot. In manufacturing a shoe embodying my invention I provide a pattern according to which each of the quarters has a substantially straight front edge and the edges are cut so that the edge A of the inner quarter 3, from. its junction at the point C with the sole I to the point D adjacent the lacing or fastening means, is shorter than the 50 edge 13 of the outer quarter 4 measured between the corresponding points E and F. It will also be noted that the edge A forms an angle X with the horizontal which is bigger than the angle Y formed between the edge B and the horizontal.

A shoe so constructed, when Worn on the foot and. laced or tightened in the usual manner, will draw upwardly along the shaded area H, thus, not only exerting a suspending influence or upward pull along the inner high point of the arch, but also tending to swing the ball and the toes of the foot inwardly with respect to the longitudinal axis of the foot thus permitting the foot to develop a compact, strong and high arch.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

A childs shoe comprising a sole, a vamp, an outer quarter adapted to cover the rear portion of the foot and to extend substantially to the front end of the instep portion of the foot, and an inner quarter adapted to cover the rear por tion of the foot and to extend substantially to the front end of the instep portion of the foot, said quarters being spaced apart at their upper front edges centrally of the instep portion of the shoe, a lacing connecting said edges, the front edges of said quarters being substantially straight and extending forwardly and upwardly from the sole, the edge of the inner quarter from its junction with the sole of the shoe to its lacing edge being shorter and forming a larger angle with the horizontal than the corresponding edge of the outer quarter.

ANTHONY H. GEUTING. 

